Minutes of Meeting March 2022
MINUTES OF THE MEETING THURDSAY, 17 MARCH 2022 AT RANTON VILLAGE HALL
PRESENT:
Cllr. M. Russell (Chair)
Cllr. J. Forrester
Cllr Batchelor
Cllr B Jeeves
Gayle Whelan (parish clerk)
22/15 Apologies
Cllr Winnington passed on his apologies.
22/16 Declarations of interest in the following agenda:
Cllr Jeeves' wife declared his wife is on the governing board at Ranton All Saints school, and their
child attends. Parish Clerk also is a parent governor and TA at the school.
22/17 Previous minutes:
The minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday, February 7 th 2022 were accepted as a true
record.
22/18 Questions from the public:
None were in attendance. Cllr Batchelor was contacted by Mr Bourne regarding flooding to his
property. Cllr Winnington reported via email that SBC's highways department has inspected the site
and that the issues lie with BT as their ducting is taking surface water which is flooding the road.
Officers will contact BT to jet their ducting so it does not go onto Highways.
Action: Cllr Russell to find out if BT can be contacted to have a guided site visit with councillors.
22/19 Finance matters:
Accounts to date:
The latest statement date for 01 March 2022 showed:
Reserve account balance £978.00
Current account balance £10,820.02
Cheques were signed for payment to:
Parish clerk hours (18 total = £183.42)
Civic amenity visits have been requested, but finalised dates have not been confirmed yet.
Action ongoing: Councillors are still looking into the possibility of online banking. This will be
continued to be explored over forthcoming months.
Action: Cllr Russell will organise the online account with Nat West Bank.
Reserve account:
The reserve account will be discussed once online banking is available.
VAT refund form:
This has been completed and passed to councillors for verification.
Annual budget:
A new line for training will be added to the budget and finance spreadsheet at £200 and increased
salary costs will be taken into account. Councillors declared it was a very tight budget this
forthcoming year, with the potential to have a more precarious budget in forthcoming years.
Noticeboard:
Cllr Russell will purchase the noticeboard on behalf of the parish council for £642.73 inc VAT.
Online banking:
Cllr Russell has spoken to parish clerks from neighbouring parish councils to understand how they
use online banking. Clerks at Gnosall and High Offley and Haughton all sign payments online with
authorisation. Individual councils' financial regulations document outlines rules regarding who has
authority to sign payments online and necessary procedures.
Action: Cllr Russell will continue to look into this further.
Reports:
Village Hall Committee: Cllr Russell was unable to attend the last meeting.
Mowing: The parish clerk has written to the school advising them of the outcome of last month's
discussion of not continuing to pay for mowing of the school fields as of 2023. A meeting will be
arranged with councillors to discuss mowing in forthcoming years.
Action: Cllr Russell to arrange school meeting and contact Gnosall Parish Clerks regarding rules of
making donations to schools.
Highways: Councillors are continuing to apply pressure regarding drains. Potholes in surrounding
areas are quite poor.
Footpaths: No updates.
Gulleys and weeding: Gulley cleaning was last carried out in 2020.
Action: Cllr Russell to contact SCC to have direct contact for Cllr Batchelor to take the issue
forward. Still awaiting for confirmation of when weeding and next gulley cleaning will take place.
22/20 Planning updates
21/35228/HOU The Coppins, Church Close. Paperwork has not yet been forwarded to the parish
council.
Action: Chair will contact the council regarding receiving planning notice paperwork.
22/21Chairman's questions/items for information/next agenda
Training dates to be confirmed.
The next parish council meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 7.30pm.
Signed.................................................. Date...........................
Gayle Whelan, Ranton Parish Council Clerk. rantonparishcouncil@gmail.com